Questions about Ball Pythons

[EaglesLaxin8]

Hi everyone,

Im pretty new at this so im jus starting to get a hang of this. I ahve questions about my two ball pythons that im looking for help. My first ball python i got about a year and 4 months ago and he was doin real good with feeding up to a couple months ago. I asked the lady i bought him from and she said thats normal. For christmas my mom got me a bigger tanks since he has gotten bigger. I decided that three days after christmas i wanted to get another ball python. The lady at the store said it would be alright to put both of them in the same tank. Before i got the little one he was "eating like a champ" the lady said. Lately since then i have had to get him forcefed. Could it be that both arent eatin because they are intimidated by each other? Or is it because i dont have enough heat goin into the tank. I have one heat lamp as of right now and im tryin to get another one but i have been real busy lately. Could any tell me if i should use much or that stuff that looks like green carpet kinda.(Like i said im new at all this kinda) I would greatly appreciate anyones help so that my boys dont die on me. Oh another thing is that since i have had the little one he has only shed once and it was about 2 and a half weeks ago. The thing is that he hasnt even really tried gettin the skin off. I tried helpin him get some off. Should i not do that and let him do it on his own or does it not matter? Anyways thanks to anyone who helps me out.

[jparker1167]

well you shouldnt keep them in the same cage that can cause stress that could make them not eat, and how long has it been since the little on ate, cause forcefeeding should only be done as a last resort. you can use alot of substrates like aspen, reptile bark, newspaper. dont use pine tho. what temps do you have for the snakes if the temps are too low that could be why its not eating. you can use a heat light to heat the cage but i would go with a under tank heater. hope that helps some

[EaglesLaxin8]

The little one ate the day before i got him from what i was told and that was 3 days after christmas. I have put him in a big paper bag and it seems like he avoids goin near the feeder. The lady told me that i should use this stuff called jungle earth for the bedding. She said it was probably the best bark that i could get for them. My temps are in the cool spot about 71 degrees and in the warm spot 78 degrees. With sayin that i have another question that i forgot to ask along with my others. Since my room is pretty cold i leave the heat lamp on all the time so they dont get cold. Could that be a factor thats causin them to stress? If so how long should i usually keep the light on for and what part of the day. Thanks again.

[reptiles4me]

I would separate them immediately, especially since it sounds like they are different sizes. BPs are solitary creatures and often get stressed when kept together. This may be why you're having the eating issue. You also run the risk of anything spreading if the new snake wasn't healthy. And if you aren't positive about the snakes' gender, you can have accidental breeding. A lot of preperation needs to be done for breeding, so accidental breeding can cause health issues.

If you still have problems with feeding after separating, it may just be the time of year. I agree with jparker that force feeding should be a last resort. I had a female who fasted for 9 months and the vet still didn't want to try it. It can stress the snake more and cause them to become lazy about eating if done too often. I know it can be nerve racking but it's actually not unusual for BPs to fast throughout the winter. My male hasn't eaten since November.

I would also raise the temps. BPs should be kept at about 90 degrees hot side and 80 cool. I would get an under the tank heater with a thermostat to provide some belly heat. This helps aid in digestion (when they finally are eating). Since I know this can get expensive, in the meantime you can use a red bulb for heat at night (and during the day). If you have a white bulb for heat, I would turn it off at night and get a red bulb to provide heat at night.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[kath]

Your little Ball is very much intimidated by your bigger one. Stress is a MAJOR factor here so PLEASE seperate them immediately. Don't EVER force feed your Ball unless a more experienced person tells you to (a breeder, a Herp) as you are only stressing it more. It's ok for them not to want to eat for awhile, perfectly normal. You aren't always hungry, right?
A black light is good for nite time use, as it provides heat and hardly any light, they need night time too so I wouldn't leave the bright one on constantly.
Also, how big is that tank???
Please don't pull the skin off. You can really damage the snake that way, especially the underbelly. If your snake is not shedding properly, it is usually due to the fact that there is not enough moisture in the tank. Try spritzing with warm water (I put conditioner in mine, she loves it) .
The green carpet I found looks pretty but is a pain to clean and takes forever to dry, (soaking and scrubbing) so if you use them, get 2 so you can replace one while the other is drying. I personally use towels for bedding, she has her own. Just don't get Cedar. The oils in it cause breathing complications.
Good luck.

[newticus]

If you are going to keep a light on at night, you need to make sure there is at least a 10 degree temp drop. Reptiles kept at a constant temp for a long period of time experience what is called heat stress. So if you are going to use an under tank heater and a light, turn the light off at night as the under tank heat will remain on. Jungle Earth is an ok substrate, but i find it expensive, especially when towels work so well.

[EaglesLaxin8]

I appreciate everyones help with me. Im in the process of gettin my old tank put back up and getting extra stuff that i need. Kath what do you mean you put conditioner in it? If i can get an idea what to do with that then that would be perfect so i can get my snakes back to normal and even more actice then they are. The thing that confuses me is i understand the intimidation but whenever i go in my room to go to bed or whatever most of the time they are wrapped with each other. Anyways thanks again to everybody who has sent me some info on what i should do.

[reptiles4me]

From what I've been told, even though it looks as though they are cohabitating quite peacefully, it's actually their way of fighting for rank.